Travel suggestions

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing travel suggestions. In one aspect, a method includes the action of providing a travel search interface, the travel search interface including one or more travel parameters and a suggestion of one or more people to visit from among a specified collection of individuals; receiving a user selection of a suggested person; providing one or more date range and price combinations for traveling to a city associated with the selected suggested person; and generating a travel itinerary for the selected travel date range.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/217,021, filed on Aug. 24, 2011 entitled “TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS,” theentirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

This specification relates to providing travel suggestions.

Conventionally, users can plan travel using a number of travelresources. These resources can include travel websites or applicationsas well as traditional human travel agents.

Typically, when a user plans travel, the user specifies a number oftravel parameters, for example, destination location and dates oftravel. The particular travel resource then provides travel resultssatisfying those parameters.

SUMMARY

This specification describes technologies relating to presenting travelsuggestions.

A travel search interface, for example as part of a travel searchapplication, can provide a suggestion of a person to visit. Thesuggested person can be selected at random from a collection ofindividuals associated with the user. The collection of individuals canbe associated with the user based on access to a user's account on asocial site or individually specified by the user. Thus, in someimplementations, while the user can define a collection of individuals,the suggested person can be unpredictable by the user. The suggestion ofa person to visit can include presenting pricing information for one ormore different travel dates. Users can request a new suggestion ormanually select a person from the collection of individuals. Based on aselection of a person and travel dates, the user can provide input forbuilding a travel itinerary.

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include the actionsof providing a travel search interface, the travel search interfaceincluding one or more travel parameters and a suggestion of one or morepeople to visit from among a specified collection of individuals;receiving a user selection of a suggested person; providing one or moredate range and price combinations for traveling to a city associatedwith the selected suggested person; and generating a travel itineraryfor the selected travel date range. Other embodiments of this aspectinclude corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programsrecorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured toperform the actions of the methods. A system of one or more computerscan be configured to perform particular operations or actions by virtueof having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of theminstalled on the system that in operation causes or cause the system toperform the actions. One or more computer programs can be configured toperform particular operations or actions by virtue of includinginstructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause theapparatus to perform the actions.

The foregoing and other embodiments can each optionally include one ormore of the following features, alone or in combination. The methodfurther includes receiving a user input requesting a new suggestion ofone or more people to visit; and presenting the new suggestion of one ormore people. Providing one or more date range and price combinationsincludes providing a price for travel over a specified number of futureweekends. Providing the suggestion is performed in response to a triggercriteria, the trigger criteria being associated with a number of peoplein a social group of the user. Generating a travel itinerary includesreceiving a user selection of two or more flight legs for the daterange. The date range and price combinations are pre computed for eachof a plurality of people available as suggestions. The suggestion israndomly generated.

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include the actionsof providing a travel search interface, the travel search interfaceincluding identifiers for a plurality of people; receiving a selectionof a particular person of the plurality of people; providing one or moredate range and price combinations for traveling to a city associatedwith the selected person; and generating a travel itinerary for theselected travel date range. Other embodiments of this aspect includecorresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programsrecorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured toperform the actions of the methods. A system of one or more computerscan be configured to perform particular operations or actions by virtueof having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of theminstalled on the system that in operation causes or cause the system toperform the actions. One or more computer programs can be configured toperform particular operations or actions by virtue of includinginstructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause theapparatus to perform the actions.

The foregoing and other embodiments can each optionally include one ormore of the following features, alone or in combination. The pluralityof people belong to a user specified group. The user interface allowsthe user to scroll through the plurality of people. Generating a travelitinerary includes receiving a user selection of two or more flight legsfor the date range. The date range and price combinations are precomputed for each of a plurality of people available as suggestions.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented so as to realize one or more of thefollowing advantages. Travel can be suggested to users based on eachuser's associations with a collection of individuals. Randomlysuggesting people to visit can provide the user with an unpredictedsuggestion, leading to new travel ideas.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an example process for suggesting travel.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process for determining travelbased on a selected person.

FIG. 3 shows an example travel search interface.

FIG. 4 shows an example travel search interface including a travelsuggestion.

FIG. 5 shows an example visit interface for selecting travel based on aselected person.

FIG. 6 shows an example travel settings interface.

FIG. 7 shows an example travel results interface showing travel resultsfor visiting the selected person.

FIG. 8 shows an example travel results interface for selecting aparticular flight leg.

FIG. 9 shows an example travel itinerary interface including a specifiedflight itinerary.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an example process 100 for suggestingtravel. For convenience, the process 100 will be described with respectto a system, including one or more computers, that performs the process100.

The system presents a travel search interface (step 102). The travelsearch interface can be presented in response to a user action. Forexample, the travel search interface can be presented as part of aparticular travel application (e.g., a mobile application) that has beenopened by the user or otherwise executed. Alternatively, in someimplementations, the travel search interface is presented as part of aweb interface, e.g., through a browser of a user device (e.g., a mobiledevice, tablet device, laptop, or desktop computer).

The travel search interface can be presented for a particular mode. Forexample, a travel application can include a number of different menuoptions for respective modes that provide different information. Themodes can include, for example, a search mode for performing a travelsearch using the travel search interface. Other modes can include ahistory mode that can display previously searched travel in a historyinterface, an itinerary mode that can display particular previouslygenerated travel itineraries in an itinerary interface, and a visitsmode for displaying an interface for identifying particular individualsto visit as will be described in greater detail below.

The travel search interface provides a number of travel searchparameters that the user can specify. In some implementations, the useris able to request a greater or fewer number of travel search parametersthan those initially presented. The travel search parameters presentedcan depend on the type of search. For example, travel search parametersfor a hotel search can be different than travel search options for aflight search. For a flight search, the presented travel searchparameters can include one or more of an origin location, a destinationlocation, departure date ranges, duration of stay ranges, number oftravelers, and other search parameters. For a hotel search, thepresented travel search parameters can include one or more of hotelcity, arrival date, number of nights, room type, and number of guests. Areduced set of essential travel search parameters can be initiallypresented (e.g., origin, destination, and dates). The user can thenrequest additional travel search parameters be presented.

The system provides a suggestion of a particular person to visit (step104). The suggestion can be provided within the presented travel searchinterface (e.g., provided within the travel search interface whendisplayed). Alternatively, the suggestion can be provided within adifferent mode, for example, the visits mode (e.g., in a mode selectedfrom the travel search interface).

In some implementations, the suggestion is determined from a collectionof individuals previously selected by the user. For example, the usercan designate a collection of individuals during a setup stage. Thecollection of individual users can be associated with a particularsocial site that the user belongs to. The user can select the members ofthe social site associated with the user or a subset of members asavailable for suggestions.

Alternatively, in some implementations, the user specifies eachindividual to be included in the collection of individuals. This caninclude providing additional information about each specifiedindividual, for example, a location city or closest airport for each.

The system can determine which person to provide as a suggestionaccording to particular criteria. In some implementations, the criteriadesignates that the suggestion is a random selection from the collectionof individuals. The random selection can be performed based on anassociation of an identifier for each individual in the collection ofindividuals and values generated by a random number or pseudo-randomnumber generator. Various algorithms can be used for random selection ofa person from a collection of individuals.

In some other implementations, the random selection is bounded by one ormore additional criteria. For example, the size of the collection ofindividuals can be an addition criterion. If the collection ofindividuals is small (e.g., 10 people), a suggestion may only betriggered occasionally. For example, every five times the user opens thetravel application, a suggestion will be provided. Alternatively, if thecollection of individuals is large (e.g., more than 100 people), asuggestion may be triggered every time the user opens the travelapplication.

In some implementations, a distanced metric is used as a criterion. Forexample, people in the collection of individuals that are within aspecified distance from the user (e.g., 100 miles) can be excluded frombeing provided as a suggestion. Similarly, those individuals that exceeda certain distance from the user can also be excluded for short durationtrip suggestions (e.g., a weekend). For example, for a person in SanFrancisco, a suggestion would not be provided to visit a person inEurope for a weekend.

The suggestion can be provided as one or more display elements e.g., inthe travel search interface or a visits interface. For example, thesuggestion can include one or more of the person's name, an image of theperson, the location to visit (e.g., San Francisco, Calif.), and anairfare cost. In some implementations, the price of the airfaredisplayed is a lowest average round-trip airfare for a particular one ofseveral possible date ranges, for example, a lowest average price fortravel over the next four weekends to the location associated with thesuggested person (e.g., an airport closest to the person).

The system optionally receives user input for a new suggestion (step106). For example, the user can provide a particular input triggering anew suggestion. In some implementations, a user interface element (e.g.,a button) can be used to request a new random selection of a suggestedperson to visit. Alternatively, in some other implementations, a mobiledevice (e.g., including one or more accelerometers) can be shaken orotherwise moved in order to trigger a request for a new random selectionof a suggested person to visit.

In some implementations, an initial selection of the provided suggestionresults in a visits interface associated with a visits mode beingdisplayed. Alternatively, the user can directly select the visit modefrom a menu.

The visits interface provides additional information about the providedsuggestion as well as provides interface elements for obtaining a newsuggestion from among the collection of individuals. The user cantrigger the new suggestion multiple times, for example, by repeatedlyselecting a user interface button or shaking a mobile device. After eachtrigger event, a new suggestion is provided to the user, e.g., as ahighlighted or separate display information for the suggested person inthe visits interface.

The system provides one or more travel options for visiting thesuggested person (step 108). Presenting one or more travel options caninclude displaying a price for each of a specified number of upcomingdates. For example, the visits interface can display the lowest averageround-trip airfare for traveling to the suggested person (e.g.,identified by a closest airport or other criteria). Additionally, eachprice can have an associated date or date range.

In some implementations, the system computes the travel options when thecurrent selection is made for a person to visit. In some otherimplementations, the system pre-computes travel options. For example,the system can pre-compute travel options for all people in thecollection of individuals. Alternatively, the system can pre-compute aspecified number of next random suggestions before a request is receivedto suggest a new person and pre-compute travel options for those people.

In some implementations, the dates represent consecutive weekends fromthe present date. For example, a price for the next four weekends can bedisplayed. The weekend can be defined as Friday-Sunday, for example bydefault. However, in some other implementations, users specify preferredtravel dates for visiting people (e.g., Saturday-Monday). Additionally,travel dates can depend on the distance of the person from the user, forexample Saturday-Sunday for people within a specified distance butFriday-Sunday for those that are further away.

The system receives a selection of particular travel dates (step 110).The user can select one of the provided one or more travel options. Forexample, the user can select a particular weekend of travel based on thepresented travel dates and pricing (e.g., using a cursor or touchinput).

The system provides travel results for the selected travel dates (step112). The travel results can include a display of different airlines, anumber of stops, and prices. For example, a grid display can bepresented showing lowest round-trip pricing as a function of airline andnumber of stops (e.g., “Airline 1” can have a first price entry for anonstop flight and a second price entry for routes having up to onestop). In some implementations, a map interface is selectably providedthat illustrates the different flight routes from the departure to thedestination.

The system builds a travel itinerary for the travel dates based on userinput (step 114). The itinerary includes a departure leg and a returnleg. Each leg defines a routing between the origin and destinationairports. Each leg can include multiple segments (e.g., specificnon-stop flights). For example, if a leg from San Francisco (SFO) toBoston (BOS) includes a stop in Chicago (ORD), then the leg includessegments SFO to ORD and ORD to BOS.

After specifying a particular airline and stops from the travel results,the user can further specify particular flight times for the one or moreflights of each leg. In some implementations, additional dimensions arespecified, for example, class of travel or seat selection.

In some implementations, options are provided for booking the itinerary.For example, one or more options can be provided for third party bookingsites from which the itinerary can be purchased. Upon selection of aparticular third party booking site, the itinerary can be sent to thethird party booking site to complete the booking process.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an example process 200 for determiningtravel based on a selected person. For convenience, the process 200 willbe described with respect to a system, including one or more computers,that performs the process 200.

The system presents a travel search interface (step 202). The travelsearch interface can be presented in response to a user action. Forexample, the travel search interface can be presented as part of aparticular travel application (e.g., a mobile application) that has beenopened by the user or otherwise executed. Alternatively, in someimplementations, the travel search interface is presented as part of aweb interface, e.g., through a browser of a user device (e.g., a mobiledevice, tablet device, laptop, or desktop computer).

The travel search interface can be presented for a particular modesimilar to that as described above with respect to FIG. 1. For example,a travel application can include a number of different menu options forrespective modes that provide different information. The modes caninclude, for example, a search mode for performing a travel search usingthe travel search interface. Other modes can include a history mode thatcan display previously searched travel in a history interface, anitinerary mode that can display particular previously generated travelitineraries in an itinerary interface, and a visits mode for displayingan interface for identifying particular individuals to visit as will bedescribed in greater detail below.

The travel search interface provides a number of travel searchparameters that the user can specify as described above with respect toFIG. 1. In some implementations, the user is able to request a greateror fewer number of travel search parameters than those initiallypresented. The travel search parameters presented can depend on the typeof search. For a flight search, the presented travel search parameterscan include one or more of an origin location, a destination location,departure date ranges, duration of stay ranges, number of travelers, andother search parameters.

The system receives a selection of a particular person to visit (step204). In particular, the user can enter a visits mode. The visits modecan provide a selection interface that allows the user to browse andselect a particular person from a collection of individuals. Thecollection of individuals, as described above, can be identified from anaccount with a social site or individually specified by the user.

In some implementations, the selection interface is presented as atumbler that allows the user to scroll through a list of people in thecollection of individuals. For example, in mobile device scenariosincluding a touch interface, the user can drag a finger in a respectivedirection to scroll in different directions. The user can select aperson directly (e.g., by clicking or touching the person's identifier,for example, a name). In some implementations, the person positioned inthe center of the tumbler interface is automatically selected. The usercan change the selection by scrolling the tumbler such that a differentperson is in the center position.

The system presents one or more travel options for visiting the selectedperson (step 206). The travel options can include pricing informationfor one or more dates as described above with respect to FIG. 1. Thesystem receives a selection of particular travel dates (step 208).

The system provides travel results for the selected travel dates (step210). The travel results can include a display of different airlines,number of stops, and prices. For example, a grid display can bepresented showing lowest round-trip pricing as a function of airline andnumber of stops. In some implementations, a map interface is selectablyprovided in response to a user input that illustrates the differentflight routes from the departure to the destination.

The system builds an itinerary for the selected travel dates based onuser input (step 212). After specifying a particular airline and stopsfrom the travel results, the user can further specify particular flighttimes for the one or more flights of each leg. In some implementations,additional dimensions are specified, for example, class of travel, orseat selection.

In some implementations, options are provided for booking the itinerary.For example, one or more options can be provided for third party bookingsites from which the itinerary can be purchased. Upon selection of aparticular third party booking site, the itinerary can be sent to thethird party booking site to complete the booking process.

FIG. 3 shows an example travel search interface 300. The travel searchinterface 300 is shown as displayed on a mobile device 302. However, thetravel search interface 300 can be displayed on other types of userdevices including those having touch screen displays and those havingnon-touch screen displays. In some implementations, the travel searchinterface 300 is displayed on a touch display such that the user caninteract with displayed elements using touch inputs.

The travel search interface 300 includes a number of flight travelsearch parameters 304. The combination of these parameters can then beused to search for flights that satisfy the flight travel searchparameters. For example, a user can select a search button 310 on thetravel search interface 300 to initiate a search.

The displayed flight travel search parameters 304 shown in the travelsearch interface 300 include a flight type, an origin, and adestination. The flight type indicates whether the flight is one way orround trip. The user can select (e.g., by touch or using a cursor) theflight type. Additionally, a default selection can be made when thetravel search interface 300 is presented. As shown in FIG. 3, the “roundtrip” flight type is shown as highlighted, indicating selection.

The origin and destination allow for user input specifying a city orspecific airport from which a flight will originate and arrive. Forexample, the origin can be specified by input to a corresponding textfield for inputting a city or airport code. Alternatively, selection ofthe origin can result in a drop down or other listing of cities and/orairports. In some other examples, a search interface is provided inwhich the user can inputs some or all of a city or airport name andsearch for matching results. Similarly, the destination can be specifiedin a text field or using drop down listing for inputting a city orairport code. The user can select more than one airport for a given cityor metropolitan area. In some implementations, specifying a city resultsin a presentation of one or more airports for selection.

In some implementations, a user specifies preferred airports or cities.For example, a user can establish preferences including a default originlocation (e.g., the user's home city or current location) as well asgenerate a list of frequent destinations from which to select.

The displayed flight travel search parameters also include a search modeand departure dates. The search mode indicates whether the flight searchis for specific dates or flexible using a calendar. The user can select(e.g., by touch or using a cursor) the search mode. Additionally, adefault selection can be made when the travel search interface 300 ispresented. As shown in FIG. 3, the “specific dates” search mode is shownas highlighted indicating selection.

The dates indicate the departure and return dates. Other parameters canbe included including those partially shown or hidden. For example,“passengers” allows a user to specify the number of travelers and ispartially shown. In some implementations, a user scrolls the display toreveal additional flight travel search parameters (e.g., using a touchgesture or scroll bars).

Menu items 306 can also be presented. The menu items 306 can identifydifferent modes of a flight search application. For example, the menuitems 306 currently show that a search mode is selected. Consequently,the travel search interface 300 is displayed. Other menu items 306 canresult in different displays relating to, for example, a visits mode,history mode, itineraries mode, and a settings mode, depending on theparticular travel search application.

The travel search interface 300 further includes a prompt 308. Theprompt 308 provides information to the user indicating that the user canuse the “visits” mode to identify travel to visit a particularindividual. This individual can be suggested once the visits interfaceis displayed or manually selected, as described above with respect toFIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 shows an example travel search interface 400 including a travelsuggestion. The travel search interface 400 is shown as displayed on amobile device 402. However, the travel search interface 400 can bedisplayed on other types of user devices including those having touchscreen displays and those having non-touch screen displays. In someimplementations, the travel search interface 400 is displayed on a touchdisplay such that the user can interact with displayed elements usingtouch inputs.

The travel search interface 400 includes a number of flight travelsearch parameters 404. The combination of these parameters can then beused to search for flights that satisfy the flight travel searchparameters. For example, a user can select a search button 410 on thetravel search interface 400 to initiate a search.

The displayed flight travel search parameters 404 shown in the travelsearch interface 300 include a flight type, an origin, and adestination. The flight type indicates whether the flight is one way orround trip. The origin and destination allow for user input specifying acity or specific airport from which a flight will originate and arrive.

The displayed flight travel search parameters also include a search modeand departure dates. The search mode indicates whether the flight searchis for specific dates or flexible using a calendar.

The dates indicate the departure and return dates. Other parameters canbe included including those partially shown or hidden. For example,“passengers” allows a user to specify the number of travelers and ispartially shown. In some implementations, a user can scroll the displayto reveal additional flight travel search parameters (e.g., using atouch gesture or scroll bars).

Menu items 406 are also presented. The menu items 406 can identifydifferent modes of a flight search application. For example, the menuitems 406 currently show that a search mode is selected. Consequently,the travel search interface 400 is displayed.

The travel search interface 400 further includes a travel suggestion408. The travel suggestion 408 can be provided as one or more displayelements in the travel search interface. For example, the suggestion caninclude one or more of the person's name (e.g., “John Smith”), an imageof the person, the location to visit (e.g., Boston, Mass.), and anairfare cost. In some implementations, the price of the airfaredisplayed is a lowest average round-trip airfare for a particular one ofseveral possible date ranges, for example, a lowest average price fortravel on a specified number of different date ranges (e.g., over thenext four weekends) to the identified location of the suggested person.

FIG. 5 shows an example visit interface 500 for selecting travel basedon a selected person. The visit interface 500 is shown as displayed on amobile device 502. However, the visit interface 500 can be displayed onother types of user devices including those having touch screen displaysand those having non-touch screen displays.

The visit interface 500 can be displayed, for example, in response to auser selection of a “visits” menu item of the menu items 510. The menuitems 510 can identify different modes of a flight search application.Alternatively, in some implementations, the visit interface 500 isdisplayed in response to a user selection of a suggestion in a travelsearch interface. For example, in response to a user selection of thedisplayed travel suggestion 408 in FIG. 4.

The visit interface 500 includes a person selection portion 504 forselecting a person from a group of individuals. For each person in thegroup of individuals shown in the person selection portion 504,identifies the person (e.g., by name) as well as their location (e.g.,city and state).

In some implementations, the person selection portion 504 presents atumbler or other graphical elements that allow a user to browseindividuals from the group of individuals. For example, in the tumblerexample shown in FIG. 5 a user can manually move the representation upor down (e.g., using a touch gestures) to scroll through the collectionof individuals. Additionally, this allows for a larger number ofindividuals to be available for selection than displayed at any onepoint in time in the person selection portion 504.

A currently selected individual 506 is visually indicated (e.g., usinghighlighting, coloring, borders, etc.). The currently selectedindividual can be the individual positioned in the center of the personselection portion or the displayed person selected by the user.Alternatively, the currently selected individual 506 can correspond to asuggested person to visit. For example, the suggested person can be thesame as provided in a travel search interface (e.g., suggested person408) or can be a suggested person provided in response to the user beingpresented with the visits interface 500.

In some implementations, the user requests a new random suggestion of aperson to visit from the collection of individuals. For example,selection of the spin button 512 can result in a new suggestionpresented as the currently selected individual 506. In someimplementations, the person selection portion 504 is animated, forexample, as a spinning tumbler, to illustrate the random selection. Insome other implementations, the user can initiate the request for a newrandom suggestion by shaking the device, for example, a mobile devicehaving one or more accelerometers or other motion sensing devices.

A travel options portion 508 of the visits interface 500 provides adisplay of potential travel dates to visit the currently selectedindividual 506. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the travel optionsportion 508 displays a lowest average round-trip price for fourdifferent weekends of travel. For each of the four options, a price isshown as well as a calendar representation of the departure date. Insome implementations, the lowest average price or prices can beindicated, for example by coloring, highlighting, or other visualeffect. If the user requests a new suggestion or manually specifies adifferent individual, the travel options portion 508 can be updated todisplay prices computed for the corresponding destination of the newlyselected person.

The price indicates the lowest average round-trip price from the user'sdeparture location, for example, a closest or specified airport to theairport associated with the selected person. The airport associated withthe selected person can be a closest one or more airports. For example,for a selected person living in Palo Alto, Calif., there may be multiplenearby airports, e.g., within a specified distance from the selectedperson's location, to which the user can travel including San FranciscoInternational Airport, San Jose International Airport, and OaklandInternational Airport. In some implementations, the system identifies alowest average price taking into account flight itineraries with respectto each of these airports. The user can have the option of selecting aflight to a particular location when viewing flight results for aselected travel date.

The user can select a particular travel dates from the travel optionsportion 508. Once selected, travel results for the selected departureand return dates are presented in order to build an itinerary. Exampletravel results and itinerary interfaces are shown in FIGS. 7-9 below.

FIG. 6 shows an example travel settings interface 600. The travelsettings interface 600 is shown as displayed on a mobile device 602.However, the travel settings interface 600 can be displayed on othertypes of user devices including those having touch screen displays andthose having non-touch screen displays.

The travel settings interface 600 can be displayed, for example, inresponse to a user selection of a “settings” menu item of the menu items614. The menu items 614 can identify different modes of a flight searchapplication.

The travel settings interface 600 includes account setup 604, custompeople lists 606, and travel preference 608. The account setup 604allows a user to use an existing account on one or more social sites toidentify a collection of individual from which travel suggestions can beprovided. The user can login to their account with a particular socialsite. The user can also log out of the social site such that the travelsuggestions do not have access to the group if individuals. The user canlogout, for example, using logout button 610.

The custom people lists 606 allows the user to specify the members ofthe collection of individuals from which suggestions are chosen. Forexample, the user can be presented with a list of all the individualsidentified in the social site. The user can then eliminate particularindividuals. In some implementations, the user builds an independentcollection of individuals by providing names and locations for eachmember of the group.

The travel preference 608 allows the user to specify different travelpreferences. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the user can specify ahome airport indicating a preferred departure airport for all travelsearches including suggested travel. In some other implementations,other travel preferences can be specified. For example, a maximumdistance or flying time (e.g., 7 hours maximum), travel date constraints(e.g., only weekends), or price limits (e.g., only suggestions where theaverage round-trip cost is $500 or less).

FIG. 7 shows an example travel results interface 700 showing travelresults for visiting the selected person. The travel results interface700 is shown as displayed on a mobile device 702. The travel resultsinterface 700 can be provided, for example, in response to the userselection of a particular travel dates from the travel options portion508 of FIG. 5 for travel to visit a selected person.

The travel results interface 700 includes display options including anairline view 704 and a map view 710. The airline view 704 is shown asselected. The map view 710 displays different flight routes between theorigin and destination on a map interface. The user can return to theprior search interface using search button 712.

The airline view 704 provides a grid display 708 showing airlines andaverage lowest round-trip prices based on a number of stops. Forexample, as shown in grid display 708, prices for various airlinesincluding mixed airline travel are displayed as rows while thecorresponding prices are displayed with respect to columns indicating anumber of stops. Thus, for example, “Airline 4” includes prices fornonstop, up to one stop, and up to two stop flight routes between theorigin and destination.

FIG. 8 shows an example travel results interface 800 for selecting aparticular flight leg. The travel results interface 800 is shown asdisplayed on a mobile device 802.

The travel results interface 800 can be presented, for example, inresponse to the user selecting a particular airline and routing in thetravel results interface 700 of FIG. 7. The user can return to thetravel results interface 700, for example, by selecting the back button804.

The travel results interface 800 shows distinct flight legs from theorigin to the destination for the selected airline. For example, fortravel from San Francisco to Boston, six different flight legs are shownfor “Airline 5”, e.g., of the travel results interface 700. Each of theflight legs show the departure time, arrival time, number of stops, andduration. If there is a stop, the location of the stop is shown (e.g.,LAX for Los Angeles). The user can select a particular flight leg, e.g.,with a cursor controlled by an input device or by touch input.

FIG. 9 shows an example travel itinerary interface 900 including aspecified flight itinerary. The travel itinerary interface 900 is shownas displayed on a mobile device 902.

The travel itinerary interface 900 displays a user selected itineraryincluding flight details for both outbound and return legs and pricing.The user can return to the previous interface (e.g., selecting thereturning leg) using a back button 904. Alternatively, the user canbeing a new flight search by selecting a new search button 906.

Menu options 908 provide options for e-mailing the selected itinerary,providing feedback on the travel search process or features, as well asinformation on how to book the itinerary. In some implementations, oneor more third party booking sites are presented to the user. Ifselected, the user can be directed to a browser session that opens theselected third party booking site in order to complete purchase of theselected itinerary.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by data processing apparatus,the method comprising: providing a travel search interface to a userdevice, the travel search interface identifying one or more individualsfrom a collection of individuals; receiving, through the user device, auser selection of an individual from the one or more individuals; inresponse to receiving the user selection of the individual, providing,to the user device, data identifying one or more travel date ranges anda corresponding price for traveling to a location associated with theselected individual for each of the travel date ranges; receiving,through the user device, a user selection of a travel date range; andgenerating a travel itinerary for traveling to the location associatedwith the selected individual for the selected travel date range.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the collection of individuals includes one ormore individuals that were previously specified by a user operating theuser device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moreindividuals are provided as suggestions that have been selected based onone or more criteria.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or morecriteria includes excluding individuals from being provided assuggestions when the individuals are located at a distance that exceedsa specified threshold distance from a location associated with the user.5. The method of claim 1, wherein a length of each of the travel daterange is determined based on a distance between the selected individualand the user.
 6. A system comprising one or more computers and one ormore storage devices storing instructions that are operable, whenexecuted by the one or more computers, to cause the one or morecomputers to perform operations comprising: providing a travel searchinterface to a user device, the travel search interface identifying oneor more individuals from a collection of individuals; receiving, throughthe user device, a user selection of an individual from the one or moreindividuals; in response to receiving the user selection of theindividual, providing, to the user device, data identifying one or moretravel date ranges and a corresponding price for traveling to a locationassociated with the selected individual for each of the travel dateranges; receiving, through the user device, a user selection of a traveldate range; and generating a travel itinerary for traveling to thelocation associated with the selected individual for the selected traveldate range.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the collection ofindividuals includes one or more individuals that were previouslyspecified by a user operating the user device.
 8. The system of claim 6,wherein the one or more individuals are provided as suggestions thathave been selected based on one or more criteria.
 9. The system of claim8, wherein the one or more criteria includes excluding individuals frombeing provided as suggestions when the individuals are located at adistance that exceeds a specified threshold distance from a locationassociated with the user.
 10. The system of claim 6, wherein a length ofeach of the travel date ranges is determined based on a distance betweenthe selected individual and the user.
 11. A computer program product,encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, comprisinginstructions that when executed by one or more computers cause the oneor more computers to perform operations comprising: providing a travelsearch interface to a user device, the travel search interfaceidentifying one or more individuals from a collection of individuals;receiving, through the user device, a user selection of an individualfrom the one or more individuals; in response to receiving the userselection of the individual, providing, to the user device, dataidentifying one or more travel date ranges and a corresponding price fortraveling to a location associated with the selected individual for eachof the travel date ranges; receiving, through the user device, a userselection of a travel date range; and generating a travel itinerary fortraveling to the location associated with the selected individual forthe selected travel date range.
 12. The computer program product ofclaim 11, wherein the collection of individuals includes one or moreindividuals that were previously specified by a user operating the userdevice.
 13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the one ormore individuals are provided as suggestions that have been selectedbased on one or more criteria.
 14. The computer program product of claim13, wherein the one or more criteria includes excluding individuals frombeing provided as suggestions when the individuals are located at adistance that exceeds a specified threshold distance from a locationassociated with the user.
 15. The computer program product of claim 11,wherein a length of each of the travel date ranges is determined basedon a distance between the selected individual and the user.